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Power cut

On October 9, 2007 the Electricity Board was rather unkind to numerous consumers in R.S. Puram and Saibaba Mission areas. Throughout the day there were power cuts at frequent intervals causing inconvenience to residents and businessmen in these localities.

An old man got trapped in the lift in Tirumal Apartment (off Thadagam Road) and a few electronic appliances suffered damage.

On October 10 too power went off twice.

K.D. Viswanaathan,

Thadagam Road.

Privatise power supply

We have been experiencing intermittent and unscheduled power cuts exceeding 15 hours in 24 hours since October 7! We wonder what has gone wrong with our poorly-managed Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB).

There must be a public relations officer for TNEB and so far he has not bothered to tell us through newspapers what the problem is.

People take these things lying down. Privatisation will help reduce such incidents.

S. Sunder,

P.N. Pudur.

Power cut woes

I am an elder media man of Bombay who migrated to Coimbatore with the intention of spending the evening years of my life at a nicely-built senior citizens complex with an envigorating environment, drawing in the beauties of Nature - a sharp contrast from the noise pollution and air pollution of the metropolis of Mumbai with a population bursting at the seams.

But the engineers of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board by ordering frequent power offs during the day make life miserable for me and thousands of citizens living in this area.

The power cuts during the day have increased both in number and duration.

When I took my wife to a doctor recently, the clinic was plunged in darkness. However, the physician with standby lamps examined and prescribed medicines which could be bought in candle light from the next-door pharmacist.

N. Hariharan,

Thondamuthur Road.

Drinking water

The Chief Secretary has offered a programme to recharge groundwater: a pond in every acre of wasteland! Groundwater available in most areas is unfit even for animals or agriculture.

If the existing 658 lakes and 13,562 tanks were properly maintained the heavy rain we had this year would have filled them to the brim.

K.K. Lakshmanan,

Tiruchy Road.

Police patrol

RAAV had requested the Commissioner of Police, Coimbatore City, to intensify patrolling in Cheran Maanagar area following incidents of thefts in the area. Now there is intensive and consistent patrolling in all residential colonies here. RAAV thanks the Commissioner of Police, Coimbatore City, for the prompt action.

R.Kandasamy,

Coimbatore.

Launch the train

With no signs of the launch of the proposed Coimbatore-Nagercoil overnight express, woes of migrant people from the southern districts working in Coimbatore and Tirupur regions will increase during the Dussera/Deepavali season. There will be a heavy holiday rush from Coimbatore/Tiruppur to the southern districts during Deepavali and people will have to depend only on the Coimbatore- Nagercoil day time passenger. Private buses operating to southern districts will fleece the passengers. Will the Southern Railway start the announced 6609/10 Coimbatore-Nagercoil daily express train before Deepavali?

Ravi S,

Saibaba Colony.

Recalcitrant automen

This refers to the report on auto metre fare (October 5). The truth has been well-told. Auto drivers have been recalcitrant and fleecing passengers for two decades. The public cannot do anything other than express resentment. However, people have started treating the auto drivers with contempt and are going for alternatives such as call taxis.

A. Ranganathan,

NGGO Colony.

Enforce auto fare

I am from Kerala and visit Chennai and Coimbatore quite often. I would like to narrate my bitter experience with automen in both places. Sometime ago I had to go to Kuniamuthur from Podanur railway station. An automan told me that I would have to pay Rs. 100. He was not willing to go by meter. A call taxi driver offered to take me and the meter charge was only Rs.75. In another instance, I wanted to go to a place near Coimbatore Club. A taxi driver wanted Rs. 200 for a distance of around two km. When the police intervened the driver agreed to Rs.100. I returned in a call taxi and the charge was just Rs. 45. An autorickshaw driver in Chennai told me that it was futile to complain against the auto drivers as most of the autos were owned by people in the police department or petty politicians. The Government should see to it that the fare it has fixed for autos is enforced. In Kerala the auto drivers’ association insists that its members follow the code of conduct laid down by the association.

Nath T.M.P.,

Camp Kuniamuthur.

House numbers

The co-existence of old and new numbers for houses all over the state causes confusion to postmen, courier messengers and others. Letters are delivered at wrong places and some are not delivered at all. It is a pity that local bodies have not yet felt it necessary to rationalise the numbers. Old numbers should be removed from doors and records and new numbers should be made mandatory.

T.P Ramachandran,

K.K. Pudur.

Billing hassles

Recently I went to pay my electricity bill in the Electricity Board office near Thottipalaym Pirivu where the billing system is computerised. I thought that my work would be over soon but to my surprise it took more time than when it is done manually. The staff in the office are new and young. People in the queue started scolding the man in the billing section. The electricity department should put experienced and skilled computer professionals in the billing section.

V. Douglas Kirpa Raja,

Avanashi Road.

Encroachments

State highway authorities and the revenue department have started removing encroachments with a bang. While temples and religious practices are part and parcel of people’s lives, they should not be promoted at the cost of public convenience.

E. Sivasankaran,

Nanjundapuram Road.

Villages targeted

On October 9 there was no power in Thanneerpandal area from 6.15 a.m. to 7.30 a.m. and from 6.15 p.m. to 7.15 p.m. On October 10 there was no power from 3 a.m. to 4 a.m. and 8.20 p.m. and 9.20 p.m.

The morning power cuts give many problems to women as they have to prepare food and the evening power cut causes difficulties to students. If a complaint is made on the number 155333 or at Kalapatty power house there will be no response. The area comes under Vilankurichi Panchayat and village areas are always targeted by the Electricity Board while enforcing power cuts.